Laura Crapper gets an e-mail advertising a poetry slam in New Jersey. Having just graduated from high school and looking for adventure beyond her father's mobile home, Laura (renamed Sister Slam) and her best friend Twig hit the road. A poetry slam appearance at Tavern on the Green gets them noticed in the Village Voice. Slam invitations around NYC follow. When Laura's father has a heart attack, they return to Pennsylvania. Some of the repetitive rhyme structures annoyed me.

The poeticly inclined diva, Laura Crapper,
otherwise known as Sister Slam,
is a curvy, loud-mouthed, boot-stomping,
vest-wearing, skirt-swinging,
flame-haired graduate from the realm
of high school hell. Together
with her fellow word warrior
and best friend, Twig, hit the road
with a squealing of gravel spitting tires
and begin their Poetic Motormouth Road Trip
to the enchanted land of New Jersey,
where they plan to stand
in the circular spotlight glow
and slam words into the microphone.

Along the yellow divided road, they
discover real world realities
in the form of cops and fender benders,
lost wallets and luggage,
along with divine new possibilities,
like applause and recognition
for notebook bound phrases
spun into spoken work, and perchance,
even a bit of romance in the form
of a green-eyed Jake.

This novel, broken
into lines and rhymes,
is a fast paced read full
of fun and good times.
Though the rhythm perhaps
lacks the flow of natural dialog
and the condensed nature
of scenes and events unfolding
rapidly, from line to line
and page to page,
means the level of depth
is somewhat shallow, there remains
growth and coming
into adulthood by remembering home
and accepting the raw hurt
of loss. The result is imperfect,
but playful and joyful and a book
worth reading. ( )

written in beat poetry format; two girls take a road trip to a poetry slam in New York; interesting format, but story is lacking ( )